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Sen. Ted Cruz shifts into political overdrive in Iowa

The heartland Ted Cruz is a charismatic curiosity to a lot of Republicans, an articulate, long-sought dissenter against all things Washington.

But among establishment figures and Washington insiders, the Texas senator is a virtual pariah, derided by colleagues in his own party and a gift to Democrats who see enormous benefit in painting him as the symbol of an out of touch, radically conservative Republican Party.

All those descriptions make sense, and that’s why Cruz is both someone to be reckoned with politically – and someone whose future appears limited.

Though in office only since January, he visited Iowa last week for the third time to speak at one of the state party’s showcase dinners. Then he went pheasant hunting with local Republicans. Those are surefire ways to let the political world know you’re thinking of running for president, since the state’s caucus has in recent times been the nation’s first nominating test.

Cruz, 42, accomplished what he wanted here: He piqued interest among the Republicans who commit money and time to the party cause. Party Chairman A.J. Spiker put Cruz in the top tier of potential 2016 Republican hopefuls, grouping him with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

Kevin Hall, a party activist and columnist for TheIowaRepublican.com website, saw Cruz as having appeal: “He talks common sense, he has charisma, and Republicans are dying for someone who will fight hard.”

But many might not want someone with such a confrontational style – like Cruz’ 21-hour, 19-minute talkathon against the Affordable Care Act last month. It’s telling that the pros put Christie in the 2016 mix, since his apparent impatience for ideological purity over getting things done would seem an unusual fit among the conservatives who dominate the party.

Spiker, who is considered part of that wing, figures that while Christie is “somebody appealing to a lot of establishment Republicans, he has a personality that gets beyond the establishment because of his bluntness.’’

Few also dismiss Paul, who starts with the goodwill and the organization built by his father, former Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who ran for president several times. Ron Paul’s backers remain influential in the state party, and the senator has visited Iowa this year, most notably getting a warm reception in May at the party’s Lincoln Day Dinner in Cedar Rapids.

Cruz triggers interest, though, because Republicans at this early stage are open to someone who can rev them up; it’s been years since they’ve gotten that feeling from a potential White House candidate. Diehard conservatives never warmed to Mitt Romney in 2012 or John McCain in 2008, and their search for an alternative fell short for a host of reasons. Think Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich or Rick Perry.

To the diehards, however, Cruz has the resume and the chutzpah to charge ahead on his own path. Every skeptic or enemy seems to add to his allure.

When Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad spoke Friday before Cruz at the party’s Ronald Reagan dinner, he spent most of the time praising the work of Republican governors, barely citing Cruz. Back in Washington, Cruz has for weeks seemed to take delight in provoking McCain and other party stalwarts, who criticized him publicly.

A lot of heartland Republicans love Cruz’s swashbuckling style.

“There are so few people of principle that when you see one, you just think it’s great,” said Joel Kurtinitis, a West Des Moines software analyst.

“There’s always going to be some polarization in politics,” added Rod Shirk, a West Des Moines retiree. “Cruz has values. He has a lot to offer.”

Cruz touts his common man credentials, citing his father, a Cuban native imprisoned under dictator Fulgencio Batista. The father fled Cuba in 1957, “penniless and not speaking a word of English,” according to his son’s biography. He’s now a pastor in Dallas.

Ted Cruz became Texas’ solicitor general. Last year, with the help of tea party activists, he took on the Texas Republican establishment and trounced its anointed Senate candidate, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.

It was arguably the year’s biggest upset, illustrating how traditional establishment support and money can be beaten by the right candidate galvanizing a popular uprising.

A lot of Republicans want that energy translated to a national campaign, as they feel that Washington is too bloated and too much a get-along, go-along kind of place, regardless of party.

As proof, they cite the National Security Agency’s involvement in domestic eavesdropping, the requirement that nearly everyone get health care coverage next year, and the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups for special scrutiny.

“They were intimidating people before the election,” said Jane Marshall, a Mount Vernon accounting secretary and a tea party supporter.

Give her someone like Cruz, who’s unafraid to take on official Washington. “He knows his stuff,” she said. “I love him.”

They loved him even more after he spoke about a “new paradigm” of grassroots empowerment during his 43-minute Reagan dinner speech.

But Cruz’s remarks in Iowa also showed why he drives other Republicans crazy. He railed against GOP colleagues who voted to end the recent government shutdown. He compared the Obama administration to that of President Jimmy Carter, even though interest and inflation rates today are almost negligible, while under Carter they were rising to double digits.

And rousing speeches are no guarantee of stardom. Recent presidential political history is littered with candidates who drew big, enthusiastic crowds for a few weeks – retired Gen. Wesley Clark in 2004 and Texas Gov. Rick Perry last year, to name just two – who quickly became footnotes.

Inciting a crowd eager to be on its feet and demonstrating the judgment and gravitas to be president are two very different qualities, and Cruz is still far from proving he possesses the latter.

Josh Wilson, a Cedar Falls activist, saw Cruz as “too extreme. I like what he’s about and I don’t have anything against him, but he doesn’t strike me as someone who can win the general election.”

Cruz lets all this roll off him.

“I think the key to turning this country around is mobilizing and energizing the American people,” he told reporters. “The biggest disconnect is not between Republicans and Democrats. The biggest disconnect is between entrenched politicians in Washington and the American people.”

Polling supports that view. But it’s too early to know whether Ted Cruz will wind up the leader of the heartland proletariat or another Washington politician whose sudden celebrity proved only to be momentary.